The proposal, buried in Schwarzenegger's $103 billion state budget since December, only came to light this week, drawing howls of protest from animal lovers.

"There was a mistake that I made," Schwarzenegger said at a news conference. "Animals will be kept in animal shelters for six days and so everything will stay exactly the same."

Shelters currently hold strays for at least six business days before putting them down, costing the state an estimated $14 million a year in reimbursements to local governments.

The Republican governor and top lawmakers are scrambling to forge a compromise spending plan before July 1, when California's next fiscal year starts.

U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, a Democrat, said the proposal recalled Schwarzenegger's movie roles as the Terminator.

Schwarzenegger should "not try to play it in real life at every animal shelter in the state of California," said Lantos, co-chairman of the Congressional Friends of Animals.